EAST LANSING — Not many gave them a chance - that is, outside the circle of their fan base. But that didn’t stop the girls basketball team from Pewamo-Westphalia from believing. And in the end it was just 3.4 seconds and a timely slap of the ball by Edison’s Shaulana Wagner away from Pirate freshman Hannah Spitzley’s shot for a 3-pointer that sealed the deal. The ball went out of bounds with the score 44-45. Detroit Edison would score the final point of the game with a Gabrielle Elliott free throw at 1.6 seconds left for Detroit Edison to claim the MHSAA Class C State Champion title by a score of 46-44.

“Someone said that the Detroit papers didn’t give us a chance, that it would be a 20-point game,” said Pirate head coach Steve Eklund. “People just don’t know how to measure heart these days. It’s amazing your whole season comes down to just under four seconds. I told the girls no regrets. You are going to have a lot of people come up to you and tell you what an awesome game that was. Our biggest word we use is the word appreciation. We’ve got an awesome community. “

P-W had battled all game from behind, but the outcome was never a given. It took P-W until the third quarter to be able to match points, with each team scoring 12. Up until that point Detroit Edison led the scoring in the first two quarters by 12-8 and 14-11 to lead at the half 26-19. At the final tick in the third, Detroit Edison still had a 7-point lead, 38-31. But, oh, in the fourth.

At the 2:19 mark, and at the wrong end of a 45-37 score, P-W went on a 7-0 dizzying tear, starting with a 3-pointer by Hannah Spitzley. Rachel Huhn’s quick hands stole a Detroit Edison ball and she tore down the court for a basket at the 1:34 mark to bring the score to 42-45. This was followed by an enormous rebound by Emily Spitzley who turned it into 2 more points for the Pirates, bringing the score to within 1 point, 44-45. Detroit Edison missed a couple of free throws to continue to give P-W hope as the seconds ticked down. During a rebound, a held ball call gave possession to P-W at the opposite end of the court with just 12 seconds left. It was then that Hannah Spitzley got the ball in the corner and set herself, going for the exact shot she had already made twice in the game. It was also then that Wagner came out of nowhere and knocked the ball out of bounds.

The Pirates played with heart, guts and a strong belief in themselves.

“We knew we had a chance coming into this game, so we had to just keep pushing and not get outworked,” said Hannah Spitzley. “We were playing for our seniors and we wanted them to end the season on a high note.”

The Breslin Center, on the campus of Michigan State University, was the stage for Saturday, March 18, for the clash of the No. 6 ranked Pirates of Pewamo-Westphalia against the No. 5 ranked Pioneers of Detroit Edison. It is the first time P-W has returned to the finals since back-to-back losses in the finals in seasons 1983 and 1984.

Pewamo-Westphalia matched their team up against Detroit Edison’s head coach Monique Brown’s. Brown was awarded Coach of the Year by the Associated Press. She fields a very young team, with her starting line up featuring three freshmen, a sophomore and a junior. What they lack in age and experience, they make up for in speed and height. Rickea Jackson, a second-team all-stater, is 6’3”, and first-team all-stater Gabrielle Elliot is 5’10”, and two of the other starters are 6’0”.

The Pirate’s roster of starters includes two seniors, one junior and two freshmen. It also features three 5’10” starters - Hannah Spitzley, Kenzie Hengesbach, and Emily Spitzley. No one on the Pirate roster measures in at 5’11” or above. P-W features Emily Spitzley, a junior, who was named to the all-state second team.

The Spitzley sisters, Emily, a junior, and Hannah, a freshman, will still get one more year to play together. Emily was asked about the honor during the post-game interview. “It’s not something a lot of people get to do,” she shared. “I wouldn’t trade it for anything to have this memory with her and it’s something to hold on to for a long time.

Hannah Spitzley led the Pirates with 17 points and was a perfect 3-3 at the free throw line. Emily Spitzley finished with 15 points, Brenna Wirth 4, and Ellie Droste, Kenzie Hengesbach, Kate Hengesbach and Rachel Huhn each kicked in 2 apiece. The team had 23 rebounds in the game, with Emily Spitzley leading the team with 5, followed by Kenzie Hengesbach with 4, Ellie Droste and Brenna Wirth tallying 3 each, Hannah Spitzley 2, and Kiera Thelen and Kate Hengesbach with 1 each. Leading scorers for Detroit Edison were Rickea Jackson with 21 points and Shaulana Wagner closing out the game with 12. Detroit Edison tallied 29 rebounds for the game, with Jackson leading the way with 9. Detroit Edison closed their season with a 21-5 record, while P-W ended with a 24-3 season.

“It was an outstanding game,” said Eklund. “A lot of credit goes to Detroit Edison, they have some wonderful players there, but I wouldn’t trade my girls for anything.”

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